1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image data filing apparatus which records image data in recording media and retrieves/reproduces it when necessary, and more particularly, to an image data filing apparatus which communicates with other image data filing apparatus such as a terminal device connected thereto by communication line.
2. Description of Related Art
With increase in data and with rationalization of business management, there has been developed an image data filing apparatus which records image data of a large number of documents in such recording medium with mass storage as an optical disk and reproduces this recorded image data by a main device including this recording medium and which further can reproduce the image data recorded in the recording medium through communication line from a terminal device comprising a CRT display or a printer and an input device such as a keyboard, or also from a terminal device having the similar functions as the main device.
This image data filing apparatus has made such advantages as that plural users can deal with image data and that users distant from the main device can deal with image data by using such a terminal device.
When the number of optical disks is increased in order to record a lot of image data, there appears such an image data filing apparatus as is provided with plural sets of optical disk devices therein, wherein each optical disk is adapted to be set in each optical disk device, thereby, a user can always have a prompt response to his request for retrieval.
When the number of optical disks, however, is more increased, it is difficult to provide in the image data filing apparatus the same number of costly optical disk devices as that of the increased optical disks to be filed therein. And when a user retrieves/reproduces and records image data with respect to an optical disk which is not being set in the optical disk device, he himself must set the required optical disk in the optical disk device, which results in such disadvantages as that functional operations of the image data filing apparatus can not effectively be performed and that filing of the optical disks becomes complicated. As a result, those disadvantages greatly prevent the image data filing apparatus from effectively being used.
A solution to the above-mentioned disadvantages is disclosed such as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 220167/1986, wherein there has been developed an image data filing apparatus which can readily file plural optical disks by connecting thereto an auto-disk-changer incorporating the optical disk device as a recording/reproducing unit. Saving the user's trouble to set optical disks therein by himself, the image data filing apparatus is more effectively used.
In an image data filing apparatus having the auto-disk-changer incorporating the recording/reproducing unit therein and capable of reproducing the image data recorded in recording media such as optical disks stacked in the auto-disk-changer from the other image data filing apparatus through a communication line, there is a possibility that a request for reproduction (or for record) by the user of the main device will simultaneously be generated with a request for reproduction (or for record) by the user of the terminal device. In this case, if the apparatus can perform processing by only either of those devices, the user of the other device must wait until the previous processing is finished, which disadvantage also results in preventing the image data filing apparatus from effectively being used.
Further in such an image data filing apparatus having the auto-disk-changer as described above, compared to other image data filing apparatus, it takes longer time for setting the optical disk in the recording/reproducing unit and for removing the optical disk from it, unless the setting condition of the optical disk in the recording/reproducing unit and the stack condition of the optical disk in the auto-disk-changer are precisely filed. This significantly decreases the efficiency of the apparatus.